Angel Monarch

The atmosphere in the main hall stayed awkward for a few minutes. Only after someone started blasting music did people disperse and had fun.

After a few drinks, people actually began celebrating. The shock factor of Sera's recovery passed and now everyone was just joyful.

The fast music with the hall's surround system caused people to start dancing in the middle of the hall.

The twins, with their partners, took the lead, since they were already close to rock-bottom on the drunkenness scale. Lucy quickly followed behind with Will in tow. The two of them were getting awfully close in the past few days.

Since the breakup between Lucy and James, she found herself spending more time with Will. He and Sarah had a falling out soon after they got stuck in the Realm of Boundless Frost.

Actually, not a single couple stayed together after that event. Leslie and Faith had separated too, but that was solely because of Faith's depression.

Losing Sera was very hard on her. She was close to losing her mind, and only after ascending did she regain her sanity.

Leslie tried to help her as best as he could, but she just kept pushing everyone away.

He currently danced with Sarah. They were both emotionless on the outside. The only sign of their happiness was the near imperceptible smile on their faces.

Some people preferred to stay away from the dancing, like Astrid and Sam. Astrid hated loud music and parties, while Sam was just really uncomfortable. Discover more content at empire

However, Kim was with them, and she firmly grabbed their hands and dragged them to the dance floor. They tried to protest, but the small woman was much stronger than she looked.

Jill with her family and the Ouroboros Cohort members joined the fun too.

While most people danced, drank and enjoyed the evening, some followed Sera to the lounge room, which was thankfully noise proof.

Bea, Bran and Melinda arrived first, but Mary, James and the professor soon followed.

They were surprised to find Sera and Vicky cuddling and giggling. It gave everyone a stop. Most of them had never seen Sera this happy.

They even began to second guess themselves if Sera actually got her emotions back or not.

The mother and daughter turned towards the entrance when they heard the sound of music. Vicky grinned towards Bea and gave her a small wave, before jumping on Sera and resuming her cuddles.

On Bea's face, an enormous smile grew. She hadn't seen her daughter this happy in a long time. It filled her with hope for the future.

Next to her, Bran had the same smile on, but for different reasons. He had never seen Sera this happy. Even in her brief emotion filled state, she was nowhere near like this.

He didn't feel jealous about Sera's daughter, even though nobody else could make her laugh like that. He only wanted Sera to be like this always. If he needed to take a step back for her happiness, he would do it in that second.

They each took drinks for themselves and sat around the couches. The room stayed in comfortable silence for a few minutes until the professor had enough.

"I have to say, Lady Seraphine, you are quite good at making entrances. The only one who might be better is Bea. You really should've seen when they came through that Gate. It was truly something else."

Sera stared at Professor Collins for a few moments before leaning closer and reaching out one hand for a handshake. He grasped it and gently shook it.

"I don't think we have met in person yet. It is nice to see you helping out Mary here. She is quite the handful when it comes to science."

The people around the room laughed, everyone except Mary, who just mumbled something about being unappreciated. James saw her worsened mood, and gave a kiss on the top of her head, which brought a smile to her face.

"Anyway, don't call me Lady Seraphine. It sounds weird. Just call me Sera, like everyone else does!"

The professor nodded and took a sip of his whiskey.

"Understood," he said, then turned towards Bea with curiosity, "Can I ask you a question about your evolution?"

"Sure." she said, then took a long sip from her drink, which looked to be straight vodka.

"What did you use for your second evolution? I had been trying to figure out, but it's simply too strange."

Bea tensed a bit after hearing his question, but since everyone was staring at her with curiosity, she couldn't dodge it. With a deep sad sigh, she began to tell the story...

...

The day was cold, just like every other day in this hell. Bea lied on a makeshift bed, that she grew out of a house's floor.

It was supposed to be soft, like a pile of moss, but by the time she woke up, it froze over and now it was close to a rock in consistency.

She had no desire to leave the uncomfortable bed of hers. Currently, she only wanted to stay there and wither to death.

It has been only a week or two since the Gate's closing. It was impossible to keep track of days without looking at her watch.

The Realm of Boundless Frost had no day-night cycle. The sky was always gray with clouds. It only darkened when a snowstorm passed through, but that was random.

There could be a day when no storm came, then there could be one when multiple came on the same day.

Eventually, she left the miserable pile of dead plants, which she called a bed.

The only reason she got up was to go find her daughter. Unlike Bea, she never truly slept, and was always running around, hiding and crying.

Each morning, it was a whole mission to find and feed her. Bea was sure that otherwise she would starve to death.

On her way out of the shack, which she called home, she put on a frozen leaf dress. It wasn't supposed to be frozen, but just like literally everything in this Realm, the dress froze too.

Her skin prickled a bit upon touching the icy surface, but otherwise she felt alright.

She left her shack to look around, but immediately her mood worsened. Things were looking bad around the camp. Food and water weren't an issue. There were hundred of monsters running around, and Will could summon water anytime.

The problem was the cold. They had no way of fighting against it. Bea could summon a bit of wood and plants, but they weren't able to keep a fire going.

This Realm had no vegetation, and burning animal fat wasn't a good solution.

A few people had already died since the Gate's closing, and by their count, more would go each day. If they wanted to survive, then they had to find a way to increase the temperature.

Bea thought about it for a long time, and the only viable solution in her mind was a gamble.

The only way they might survive, if she manages to become an Ascended. She had read her prey's description hundreds of times, so she knew exactly what to expect.

The gamble part was that they couldn't guarantee what ability she would gain from evolution.

But as Bea looked out at their frozen town, she realized how little time they had left. Even though she herself wanted to give up, she didn't want all these people to die.

After standing in the cold for a few minutes, she took a deep breath and let out a shuddering, sad sigh. A tear ran down her face, but it only made it to halfway across her cheek, before it froze.

Bea took her first step, which was hard, then the next, which was easier. She didn't start looking around for Vicky, and instead walked to the pedestal where the Gate once stood.

In the middle of the pedestal, a woman knelt, absorbed in shadows. Faith hadn't stood up from that place since she came back.

A few days after the Gate closed, she just disappeared. The people of the town looked all over the place, but they hadn't found her.

After spending a week looking, she just appeared here, kneeling. She was only an Evolved when she disappeared, but now she was an Ascended.

She hadn't talked to anybody since the Gate closed, but Bea still hoped. She hoped her friend was still inside there, waiting.

Bea walked in front of Faith and knelt onto the snowy ground. She stared into the shadows, and she had the feeling that the shadows stared back.

"I have a task for you. I'm planning on evolving. There is no other way to save the town. I want you to watch over Vicky... Please."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Faith didn't react, which made Bea angry. Her patience was non-existent, and this wasn't the time for the silent treatment. She jumped to her feet, her eyes full of ire.

"If you were ever truly devoted to Sera, then watch over her daughter!... At least until I come back!... SAY SOMETHING!"

Faith stayed silent, and after a few minutes, Bea's patience truly ran out. With a growl of anger, she turned and stomped away, but she only made a few steps before a sound brought her attention back.

When she turned around, Faith had disappeared.